Episode VII: Trial By Fire: The Trial for Wisdom
by Raven-Dog
Summary: (Updated 8/20/02!!!)Takes place after the novel Traitor. Luke and his friends have defeated the Yuuzhan Vong. 19 years later his son will have to fight them and a new evil...through time. Please r/r.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. It's owned by George Lucas, but this story is mine.

Star Wars: Episode VII

Trial By Fire: The Trial for Wisdom

Prologue

Luke couldn't believe it. It was finally over. The long battle against the Yuuzhan Vong is over. He looked around at his friends. They were all aboard the Errant Venture, heading back to Coruscant from the place of their final battle. He saw all of the people that he thought with, and the ones that he lost. He couldn't believe that they were all back. Every life that was taken, every planet that was taken over or destroyed, and even the droids that were lost came back. It was an amazing process to watch, and it only took a minute.

He looked beside him to see his wife, Mara, sleeping against his side. He thought that he almost lost her, when she had the disease. Now she was as healthy as ever. He was very happy to have regained all he had lost, and even receive something new. He looked in his arms and saw his son, Ben. He was sleeping peacefully. This was his other great gain. He now had a the family he wanted. When he and Mara watched Han and Leia's children grow, he really wanted to watch his own children grow up. He prepared not to have any, when it looked like that Mara might be stuck with the disease for the rest of her life. They didn't want to risk the child's life. So the took precautions to make sure that she wouldn't get pregnant. But something happened. One day Mara discovered that she was pregnant. She was scanning herself with the Force, when she found a thickening of cells in her uterus, and found her and Luke's life signature in it. They were very surprised. They came to the conclusion that the Force had a doing in conceiving Ben. There was no other explanation. He didn't know why, yet, but he planned to find out. 

But for right now, he just wanted to enjoy the time with his family and friends. He had a knew life to look after, and with Mara it will be what he always dreamed. A real family.


	2. Chapter 1: The Dilemma

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. It's owned by George Lucas, but this story is mine.

Star Wars: Episode VII

Trial By Fire: The Trial for Wisdom

Chapter 1: The Dilemma

4 years later....

Luke looked out at Coruscant through the window in the Jedi Council's meeting room. After 4 years it was still amazing to see what has been regained and created since the day that they have defeated the Yuuzhan Vong. The Senators have finally let him recreate the Jedi Council, they have stationed a lot more Jedi around the galaxy to keep an eye on things, the Jedi Academy is back up, and they have twice as many new students than 6 years ago. _But Kyp_, he thought. Kyp had finally turned from his aggressive ways, and he now serves on the Jedi Council. That was one the best things to come out of the whole mess. 

Behind him he heard the door open. Without looking he could tell that it was Kyp. He came up beside Luke and looked out the same window. "It's amazing," he said, "that how things change. I mean, I never thought that I would be serving on the Jedi Council." Luke smiled, "neither did I, but strange things happen." They looked out the window for a few more minutes, then Luke turned toward Kyp, "how are you and Jaina doing?" 

"Great. We're doing just great. How are Mara and Ben?" 

"They are just fine?"

He nodded. A while after the Yuuzhan Vong were defeated, everyone found out that Kyp and Jaina were dating each other. No one was more surprised then Han and Zekk. 'Of all the people out there why Kyp?' they asked. Jaina couldn't really answer that. There was just something about Kyp that interested her. It was probably also that it was because he saved her life by sacrificing himself. 

He remembers that moment, a Vong coufee knife was thrown towards Jaina's chest. She wouldn't be able to get of its way, so Kyp jumped in front of it. It entered his chest, but it missed his heart by centimeters. Then Jaina killed the vong that threw it. From that moment on she wouldn't leave Kyp's side. She was shocked to see that he would do that, and wanted to know why he would do it. That's when he told her that it was because he found a person to really die for. Her. That's when she fell in love with him. She didn't care that he was 15 years older than her, and he didn't mind either. Even though he was dying, he was able to be saved. Everyone was happy for her, except Han and Zekk. Luckily Han didn't go full blast on the news. He said he would support her if this made her happy. But he did have a talk with Kyp. He told him that if he hurt his daughter, Jedi Master or no Jedi Master, he would tie him to the back of the Falcon and fly him through a Super Nova. It took Zekk a while to get used to it. After all those years he still loved her, but, luckily, he got over her and moved on to be with someone else. 

Jaina was also a few months pregnant with their first child. He was happy for them. Jacen and Tenel Ka were married with a two year old son named Jole. Anakin and Tahiri were going to get married next month. Luke was very happy that his niece and nephews were getting their own families. Han and Leia were happy to be grandparents. "With everyone in your family getting married and having children, I bet you can't wait until Ben has his own family?" Kyp asked. 

"Yeah, your right." 

Him and Mara couldn't wait until Ben has his own wife and children, but that's a long ways away.

At that moment he felt his family and the rest of the Council coming. Kyp must have felt them too, cause he turned around and straightened his robe. He turned his head toward Luke, "speak of the Sith. Here comes the rest of our rag tag team. What are the main topics of discussion for today?" "Lets wait until everyone is here so that I don't have to say everything twice," he replied. Kyp nodded in agreement. As they turned to face the chamber doors, they opened.

In walked Ben, Jole, Han, Leia, Jacen, Jaina, Anakin, C-3PO, R2-D2, and the Council. So far the Council had 7 members. There were Mara, Kyp, Corran Horn, Ganner Rhysode, Kyle Katarn, Cilghal, and himself. He hopes that Saba Sebatyne, Lowbacca, and a few others will join soon.

His son, Ben, ran up to him. 

"Dad."

"Hey, son."

Luke bent down and opened his arms. Ben jumped right in them. After they separated from the hug, he stood up and ruffled his son's hair. "Ben, your mother, the council, and I have some business to discuss, so go play with Jole for now." "Okay, Dad." He turned around and headed through the doors with Jole and four Noghri guards followed them out the door. After the incident, when the Vong tried to kidnap Ben, they hardly ever left Ben's side since then. They are so desperate to protect him.

"Well, my friends, shall we get on with business?" All of them nodded in agreement. They talked about what problems were arousing and looking into if the Vong are causing anymore trouble. Han and the others gave their reports on their findings. Then they discussed the future of the Jedi Academy and its future students. That's when Kyle spoke up. "Luke, I have a question."

"What is it, Kyle?"

"I have sensed that Ben is very strong in the Force. I know that you and Mara have too."

"Yes, we have." This came from Mara. Luke could tell she wanted to know what this was all about. "All of you might find that this is crazy, but I think that this is the right idea." Kyle seemed to prepare himself. "I say that this it is time for Ben to enter the Academy." Everyone in the group gasped. Ben was only 4 1/2 years old. He was still too young to enter. It _is_ crazy. "What gave you this idea?" Corran asked. 

"I can sense that Ben is different. He's special. The only thing left that I can tell you is that I think that this is the right thing to do?"

Luke looked around at everyone. He could see them thinking about this. He decided that he wanted to speak to his wife alone. He stood up, "I would like to talk to my wife about this, alone, before we make a decision." 

The rest of the Council left the room, and Mara walked up to Luke. "I don't know about this," she said. "Kyle is always a brilliant person, but this time I think he has gone over." Luke smiled and chuckled a little. Mara is very protective of Ben. Probably more protective than the Noghri guards. He looked at her and replied, "Mara, calm down."

"I am calm, Skywalker."

"No, your not."

She smiled at him. "The truth is Luke, is that I have felt Ben get very strong in the Force. Stronger than a kid at his age should be." He nodded. "I have too." She just sighed and collapsed in his arms. "I just feel that if we put him in the Academy this early in his age, he might grow up to fast, that he might not get to be a kid, and have fun." Luke stroked his wife's hair. "Don't worry. There will be plenty for him to do at the Academy. Jacen, Jaina, Anikan had fun. Despite the trouble they had, they still had fun. So, what do you say." Mara looked up at him with tears in her eyes and nodded. "Yes. I agree with Kyle. He should go to the Academy." Luke nodded and asked the others to come back in.

He looked at all of their faces and asked, "Mara and I have agreed that Ben should go to attend the Academy. I would like you to vote whether you agree or not. If you agree, then Ben will leave in one or two weeks. If you don't than we will wait until he is older. So lets get started." He asked for the Council to each state their decision. Not one said no.


	3. Chapter 2: Questions

Chapter 2: Questions

Ben Skywalker was looking out of the window, in his home on Coruscant, down on the lights below him. He thought they were beautiful. It was amazing to him that a planet could be a whole city. There was one natural lake, and a few man made ones, but that was it. No forest, desserts, or big oceans. That was about to change.

At the end of this week, he will be leaving to live on Yavin Four. There he will train to be a Jedi Knight. He thought he would be doing that in six years. Does this mean he will have to end his child hood now? Maybe he will find out in the weeks to come. Until then, he will have fun with his friends before he would leave. His mom and dad had the whole week planned out. They already had what he was taking packed. They said they would spend today and tomorrow giving him the test he needed to take, the next four days he will play with his friends, and on the seventh day, he will leave for the Academy with his parents. He finished the tests he had already taken today. Soon he will go to bed, and rest up for tomorrow's test.

Behind him he heard his door open. Without looking behind him, he could tell that it was his mother. He could feel her and his father's presence anywhere, within a mile's distance. "Ben, you should be in bed. Tomorrow, you have to take some more test." He turned around, and smiled, "I know, Mom. I just wanted to look at the city a little longer." She chuckled a little and shook her head. "Son, your not leaving until the end of the week. You can look at it until then." He smiled again. "Okay Mom."

"All right. Now come and get into bed."

"Okay.'

He left his window lookout and crawled into bed. His mother came up to him and pulled the covers over him.

"Mom?"

"Yeah."

"Will I ever get to come back to see you, dad, and everyone else?"

Mara sighed. She knew that this talk would come. She just wished that it was when Luke was with her, but he was busy talking to Borsk Fey'lya about some trouble that was flaring up in the new colonies in the Unknown Regions. _Here we go_, she thought to herself. "Of course, Ben. You will get to come back. Yavin Four isn't going to be your permanent home. And we will come and see you."

"Everyone?"

"Yes. Everyone."

"Even my friends?"

"I said everyone."

"Sorry."

"That's all right." She saw and felt all of the tension drain from his face. "Good," he replied. 

The door to his room opened, and Luke walked in. He walked right up to Ben's bed and sat down beside Mara. "You should be sleeping, little man." Ben smiled, "I'm just nervous." "Don't worry. You'll do fine." He bent down and kissed Ben on his forehead. "Just get some rest." He stood up. "Good night Ben." Mara bent down and kissed him to.

"Night."

"Night Dad, Mom."

He nestled down into his covers and started to drift off to sleep. Luke put his arm around Mara's waist and headed out of Ben's room.

When they exited the room, Luke turned to Mara. "So how did the talk go?" Mara glared her eyes at him. "You knew he was asking, yet you didn't come in? You better have a good reason, Skywalker."

He smiled, and said, "you sounded like you were doing such a good job, that you didn't need me. Am I right?" She chuckled and shook her head. "Yes. You are right. Don't get to happy that I said that. You won't be hearing that all the time." He smiled, and kissed her. She kissed him back.

***

Ben had finished his test, and he was waiting for the results outside the Council Chambers. On his way in all of his friends were cheering him on. He hoped that the results would come back soon. All this waiting is killing him.

Suddenly, the doors opened, and Kyle Katarn stepped out. "Ben, we are ready for you." Ben nodded and entered the chamber. The other Council members were sitting in their chairs that went around the room. His father waited until he was in the middle of the room before he spoke. "Ben, we have reviewed all of your scores and, after some discussion, have decided that you have qualified to attend the Academy." Ben had tried to keep his excitement to a minimal, but the Council must have sensed his excitement. All of them had smiles on their faces. 

"You will leave for the Academy in five days. You are free until then. Good-bye for now. And may the Force be with you." Ben bowed and ran out of the room. "Very energetic child, isn't he?" stated Ganner. "All of you, don't worry. Ben will turn out just fine," said Cilghal. "Yeah. We know," Kyp replied.


	4. Chapter 3: The Search Begins

Chapter 3: The Search Begins

Ben was racing down the streets of Coruscant in a speeder bike. His friends were right behind him, trying to pass him. Using the Force, he was dodging traffic and making sharp turns. People agreed that he is definitely one of the greatest drivers around. Rouge Squadron couldn't wait to see if he would join them. With proper training, he could become the greatest flyers ever.

But these thoughts weren't on his mind. He was just thinking about the fun he would have for the next two days. For three days straight, he and his friends have done nothing but have fun all through the city. From dawn to dusk that's all they have done. For the rest of they day they raced down the streets of Coruscant and played other games.

On the day before Ben left for Yavin 4, him and his best friend, Joseph Katarn, went down to the beach on Coruscant's natural lake and just lied there. Talking. The first one to start the obvious conversation on Ben's departure was Joseph. Joseph was the same age as Ben. Joseph has two other siblings, Morgan and Terra. Morgan is thirteen and Terra is three. Morgan was already at the Acadamy. 

"How do you feel about leaving?" Joseph asked. "It feels weird, leaving this soon. But, it is not my decision. It is the Council's," Ben replied. Joseph looked over at his best friend. His grey eyes were looking over the lake. The wind was blowing his shoulder-length red-brown hair behind his head. He wanted to ask something else, but his friend looks like he is in deep concentration. He decided to ask him anyway. "What would be _your_ decision." Ben looked ahead fo a few more minutes. Joe wasn't going to push him for an answer.

Finally, Ben turned toward his best friend. "I don't know. I am excited. I can learn so much." "But aren't you afraid by learning to be a Jedi this early in life, you will miss out on the fun you are supposed to have as a kid?" Joe asked. Ben smiled, "not really. My cousins told me about all the fun and adventures they had, I don't think I'll be some serious old wiseman the whole time I'm there."

Joeseph chuckled and smiled. Ben was right. He was going to have a lot of fun. He couldn't wait until he got into the academy. He was hoping that he and Ben would go to the Academy together. He would just have to wait a few more years. "Yeah, your right." He stood up and strected.

"Lets get out of here, Ben."

"Yeah. Lets go over to the Jedi Temple."

"Why do you want to go there?"

"I've been feeling this pull that is telling me into the deep parts of the Temple. I was just going to ignore it and go to the Academy, but the pull is getting stronger. I can't ignore it any longer." Joe didn't like this. Who knows what roams the lower parts of the Jedi Temple. He was going to say no, but he could see in Ben's eyes that he would go alone if he had to. He sighed. "Okay, okay. Lets get this over with." Ben jumped up and headed for the speeders. "Hey, Ben. Wait for me," he yelled.


	5. Chapter 4: Amazing Discoveries

Chapter 4: Amazing Discoveries

Ben and Joseph continued down the stairway in the Jedi temple. Ben could tell that going this deep gave his friend the creeps. Ben didn't like it either, but he could feel the pull stronger than ever. He had to find out what was pulling him here.

Joseph tapped his shoulder. "Come on, Ben. We have been down here and hour and an half. If you haven't reached the place now, you probably won't." He turned to face him. "If you want go back you can. But I am going to find out what is dragging me down here, no matter how long it takes." He turned back and continued down the stairs. Joseph gave a grunt and continued on as well.

Ben smiled. When it came down to it, Joseph would always follow him. This is why Joseph is his best friend. Ever since they were born they have always been the best of buds. For some reason, Ben stopped at a door. He opened it and went into the next room. As Ben searched the walls, he found what he needed.

"Look, Joseph." He pointed to the turbolift. "This will take us straight to whatever force is calling me." "How do you know this?" Ben turned to his friend, "the Force told me it will." "That's good enough for me." They stepped into the lift and it headed down automatically.

Joseph turned to Ben, "What button did you push?" "I didn't. It went all by itself." "Uh-oh," Joseph replied. They headed deeper into the lower parts of the Temple. "Man, Ben. The Force is everywhere down here. And it is very strong," said Joseph. Ben nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I can feel it to," Ben agreed. The Force has a very strong existence down here.

Soon the lift stopped. The two friends, stepped out. The pull and the Force presence was getting stronger. There is no doubt in his mind that the Force was calling him to this place. They were in a long hallway. At the end were a pair of double doors. Ben turned to face Joseph.

"Lets go through."

"Do we have to?"

"Me, yes. You? Your choice."

"Fine, fine."

They started towards the doors. They were locked. "All well," Joseph said, "it's locked. We better go back." "Not yet." Over to the right was a DNA scanner. Ben decided it was worth a try. He put his hand on the scanner. A voice came out and made them jump back. "DNA confirmed. You may enter." Ben looked at Joseph and he shrugged his shoulders. He wouldn't find out if he didn't enter.

When they went through the doors, there was a second pair on the other side. The same voice came on, "Please, enter access code." "See. This isn't meant to be. Lets go." As Joseph turned to leave the code, suddenly, came to Ben's mind. "Skywalker, code number three-six-two-five-seven." "Code accepted. You may enter." Joseph looked over at Ben with a scared look on his face. "Ben, you are beginning to scare me." "I'm beginning to be scared to, Joseph. But I have to go on."

When Ben and Joseph entered the room they turned on the light switch. Their mouths dropped to the floor when the saw what was in the room. The room they were in was huge. There were desks with computers, hologram screens, battle screens, and a storage case with enough weapons to last a few wars. Joseph kept looking around with a shocked look on his face. "Wow. This place is awesome." "You got that right," agreed Ben. "I wonder who used this place?" Joseph headed farther into the room. "Lets check this place out."

They spent half an hour searching the room, when they decided that they would need help.

"Lets go tell your father and the rest of the Council about this."

"Not yet, Joseph."

"Why not?"

"I can still feel the pull. There has to be more to this place."

"What else is there to search? We need the others."

"Lets check the walls before we tell the other."

They spent forty-five minutes checking the walls. When they reached the back wall, Ben found what he was looking for.

"Look here, Joseph. Someone tried to hide this door." With Joseph's help, Ben was able to move the cabinet. Where the cabinet was is a door with a palm reader. "Whoa. This is getting better and better. Is this where the pull is coming from?" Joseph asked. Ben nodded. "Yes, it is. Come on. I want to find out what dragged us down here." When Ben put his hand on the reader, the same voice came out. "Correct palm print. You may enter, Paladin Ben Skywalker." Ben and Joseph looked at each other with shocked looks. Ben was the first to speak. 

"This is getting freaky." 

"Tell me about it. How does it know you? And what does 'Paladin' mean?"

"I have no idea to both questions. We'll never find out just by standing here. Lets check out the next room."

Ben opened the door and stepped through. The room they stepped into looked like an office. There was a desk with personal effects, papers, data disks and readers, and other stuff. There were file cabinets and other stuff in the office. Ben spoke up first. "This must be the Commanding Officer's office." "Yeah." On the desk he saw a manual about the office elevator. He decided to grab it.

On the wall to the right were two more doors There were also palm readers near them. Joseph shook his head. "Sith. How many doors are there? And with all this security? The guy must be major paranoid." Ben chuckled. "Yeah, tell me about it. Come on. Lets check these doors." "Which one? Door number one or door number two?" "Both." Ben walked over and activated both palm readers. There was no voice this time. "Good, no voice," said Joseph, "it was getting annoying." One door had a tubolift the other had stairs.

"This must be the office elevator that this elevator talks about. Lets take the lift, Joseph." "No problem." It took only a minute or two to reach the bottom. During the drop Ben checked out the manual he grabbed from the office. "Joseph, look. This elevator goes to three floors. One is the office. The second is a floor with only two rooms. It doesn't say what is in it. The third is room the has speeder bikes, fighter ships, ships for evacuation, and battleships."

"Whoa. This must have been a serious military base."

"Yeah, and right under the New Republics nose this whole time. Kind of pathetic when you think about it."

"Tell me about it. Lets check out the ships first."

When the doors stopped on the 3rd floor they were shocked beyond belief. There were thousands of bikes, ships, ships to evacuate people, and battleships. Just like the manual said. "No, Ben. _This_ is _really_ pathetic. Sith. All this equipment could have saved the New Republic a lot of resources during the war with the Yuuzhan Vong." "You got that right. Lets check out the second floor. On the way up, Ben was wandering how he was going to tell his parents and the Council about all this. Suddenly, the lift stopped.

The first room was small with a door on the other side with another palm reader. Joseph waved his arm at the read and dropped it back to his arm. "Like I said, paranoia on the brains." "This is where the pull is coming from. Lets see what this is all about." Ben walked over and palmed the reader. He heard the lock unlock. Ben took a deep breathe, opened the door, and stepped through.


	6. Chapter 5: Destiny Revealed Part 1

Author's request: I would appreciate it if all of you reviewed this story and chapters. I love to hear what you have to say about this story. Enjoy.

Chapter 5: Destiny Revealed Part 1

Ben was amazed. Not shocked, like by everything else he has seen, but amazed. The floor has red carpet leading up to stairs. At the top of the stairs were two throne chairs. To the right side of each chair was a keypad. There were two statues. One on the right side of the room, the other on the other side. It was breathtaking. "Look, Joseph. This must be some type of throne room and/or meditation room. Whoever owned this place must have been very important." "Yeah. I wonder who it was."

Suddenly, the Force's power swept over them. It became intense. So intense, that Joseph passed out from the presence of it. Ben bent down to check his friend, trying to keep himself from passing out, too. He was okay. He wonders why the Force's presence became very intense all of a sudden.

"_We can answer that for you, Ben._" Ben wirled around to see two people in front of him. No. Not people. Spirits.

One was a man. He has long white hair, ice blue eyes, and he was wearing white, silk clothing with a cape, one side was blue, the other purple. The other was a woman. She has blonde hair, green eyes, and was wearing a long, white, silk dress with a cape, one side was pink, the other white. Both had lightsabers at thier sides. _Holy Sith spawn. They're Jedi._ But he coult tell that hey were different, somehow. _Well, someone has to start this show._

He took a step towards the two spirits. "Can you tell me who you two are?" _"My name is Jarred. This is my wife, Lucia."_ "Was it you two that called me down here?" _"Yes, it was us,"_ answered Lucia. The both sat sown on the throne chairs. Ben pointed toward Joseph, "will Joseph be all right?" Jarred nodded. _"Yes. Your friend will be all right." "It would be better for him if he didn't know what we are about to tell you."_ "What is it that you need tell me all the way down here?"_ "We will get to that. Before that, let me give you a history lesson and tell you a story._

"Over 25,000 years ago, there were wars that have taken place, here on Coruscant. We call them the Forgotten Wars, since there are no accounts of them that have been released. A different kind of Jedi existed here." "What do you by a different kind?"_ "No interuptions. Everything will be explained. All right?"_ He nodded. _"Good. These Jedi were called Paladins. A Paladin is the next and last rank after a Jedi Master. Paladins have better senses, quicker reflexes, are more physically and mentally stronger, know how to make better lightsabers, and there are many more things that they can do that regular Jedi can't do. Regular Jedi senses can only sense so much. Paladins can sense everything in the entire universe. _

"Take the Yuuzhan Vong for instance. Regular Jedi couldn't sense them in the Force. They would believe that they exist outside the Force. That the Force is not part of them. But in reality they are. They are just beyond the regular Jedi senses. Jedi Paladins would be able to sense them. Think about a whistle. Some whistles are made to admit a sound so high, that only certain animals can hear it. It is just like that. Paladins are the perfect Jedi Warriors.

"My wife and I were the rulers of Coruscant. Before, during, and after we ruled we had many fights with the Dark Paladins and Sith Lords. They would try to force their views on us. They said that we were weak, that we would fall someday. Wars and small fights went on for thousands of years. We were stronger, so we were always able to defeat them. We even thought that we have exterminated them a few times.

"Then, something happened. About 50 years before hyperspace travel was developed, the Dark Paladins did a suprise attack on the capital. The leader were two Dark Paladins, named Malice and Elsa. We didn't know at the time how their group had become so large. We found out that someone in the Paladins were secrectly helping them gathering members to hit us hard. And it worked. But we were not defeated. We stood our ground and sent them running, but we knew that they weren't done with us. We retreated to our secrect tactical base, which is what you are in right now. Here we planned out the final battles that would happen.

"For years we fought bravely against them. We killed many. The final battle happened in this building, and in the sky around the city. It was very bloody. They came by the hundreds. All of the Paladins that were left stayed here and fought there hardest. During this battle I killed the traitor. He was my best friend, Jorden. Lucia and I faced Malice and Elsa in this very room. The battle went on for two days, while the rest of the Jedi watched. In the end, Lucia and I won. Lucia cut Elsa in half, while I rammed my blade right through Malice's head.

"After we checked out the loses, we found out that all of the Paladins were killed, except for a few. Before we resumed teaching, we recieved a message from the Force. It told us to hold off the teachings to become a Jedi Paladin. It said that the power of the Paladins were felt through out the universe. People would want to use this power for themselves. It would decide when the Paladins would return. After hyperspace travel was invented, The Force came to us again. It told us to create a temple for Paladins, but not to reveal its location until a it says so.

"For thousands of years we have waited. And know the Force says that the time has come for the Paladins to return. Now You may ask questions. Ben didn't know where to start. "Why now. Why has the Force decided that now is the time for the Paladins to return?" _"The reason is because, the Sith are trying to bring back the Dark Paladins."_ "What! The Sith! I thought that they were all gone." _"No, Ben. They are still out there. Waiting for the right time to reveal themselves. One Dark Paladin has hidden the teachings. We though we got all of them, but one copy slipped through our fingers. It was found about 8 years ago."_ "And you are just telling me this? Since they had the teachings this long, aren't they Dark Paladins by now?" _"No. It has been thousands of years since the Paladins have even been mentioned. And the teaching are written in an ancient form of writting that isn't used anymore. It took them 4 years to find out what they had. It will take them more that twice that to translate the whole teachings. Who knows how long it will take them to learn the teachings. Any thing else?"_

"Yeah. Why me?" _"The Force has chosen you and one other person to bring back the Jedi Paladin. With this other person, you will be able to bring the Paladins back to their rightful place in the galaxy." _"Who is this other person?"_ "Your other half."_ "What do you mean my other half?" _Like you mother is your father's other half, your father is you mother's other half. With this women fighting at your side, you will be the ultimate Paladin, and same with her."_ "Who is she?" _"You will find out soon enough."_ "Have you talked to her, yet?" _"No. Not yet. We will speak to her when she goes to the academy."_ "Whe not tell us both here, in this place."_ We decided, for the sake of secrecy, to only have one of you, for now, to know about this place. She will be told about this place soon enough. Anything else?"_ "When do I start my training to be a Paladin?"_ "We will tell you when the time is right. Right now, we have a gift for you. Come up here, to us."_

At first, Ben was unsure. But he walked right up to them. Jarred held something out for him to take. It was a crystal. It was blue and was the size of an adults palm. "It's beautiful. Why do you want me to have it?" _"This was the crystal I used in my lightsaber. It has the ability to replicate material and to unlish energy.. When I was in battle, I used these abilities to their extent. I constructed my lightsaber to have two blades. At any time, I could unhook the two sides in the middle, so I could fight with two sabers. I could do this as many times as I want, and I could make the sabers a blaster, because of the energy the crystal could release. Lucia has one just like. Hers will be given to your other half. When the time comes, you will be able to use this to construct the same lightsaber I had. You might even think up of new things to add to make it a better one."_ "Thank you. Is there anything else?" _"Not right now. When the time comes everyone will be told about the existence of the Paladins. For now, we will leave you."_ Lucia stepped forward and hugged him. _"Take care, Ben."_ Jarred walked up and shook his hand. _"Take care of that crystal. We will levitate your friend behind you until you get back to the beach. His memory of this place will be replaced with a new one of your choosing."_ "Will he ever know that we came down here?" _"When the time comes, you will be able to give him back his memory. But for now, it's best that he doesn't know what happened here. Now go, Ben Skywalker. Go with peace and hope."_

Suddenly, the two Paladins dissapeared. Ben stood there for a moment, thinking. _Sith. I'm only five years old. How did my life get so strange all of a sudden?_ He didn't know. He still wondered who his other half was. He also wondered about a lot of other things._ Until the day I find out everything, I will learn as much about the Force and every single kind of fighting technique out there._ He didn't know how long he had. He would have to train his best. But for now, he had to get out of here. He headed for the door. Joseph's body floated behind him the whole way.

***

Ben and Joseph were back at the beach. Suddenly, Joseph woke up. The last thing he remembered was asking Ben what he thought about leaving this early for the academy. "Hey, Ben. What happened?" "You fell asleep for about two and an half hours. Come on. It is time for us to go home." Ben got up and headed toward his bike. Joseph did the same, not questioning Ben's answer.


End file.
